Cameron Mitchell Brings Jewish Comfort Food to the Short North

In the Short North, you can practically close your eyes, throw a stone and hit a Cameron Mitchell Restaurants (CMR). My favorites, Marcella’s and Martini, are neighborhood anchors, while new addition Harvey and Ed’s joins other new(ish) CMR concepts The Guild House and The Pearl.

CMR often borrows from other concepts and trends, refreshes them and makes them more accessible (The Avenue/Top Steak House or The Gastropub trend/The Pearl), much to the delight of the Columbus masses. CMR’s latest concept is no different and makes the patron feel like they are in Chicago or New York and visiting famous delis Eleven City Diner or Carnegie Deli.

I love me some deli, so Megan, Scott, Austin and I recently went to Harvey and Ed’s to nosh and to see what all of the fuss was about.

The ambiance certainly reminds you of America’s more famous delis. Exhibit #1? The illuminated NOSH signs, black and white family photos and the seafood and sides coolers.

Exhibit #2: Low sitting bars, equipped with spinning stools, that allow the patron to check out the action on the kitchen.

Per CMR usual, we had great customer service to help guide us through the menu. There was a lot of information to digest, so we decided to ingest some cocktails while we made our decisions.

The Bloody Marys were pretty standard fare – a sweeter mix with olives and limes – which is fine, because we came to dine and not to get drinks from a (barf) mixologist. Megan was happy with her mimosa, which again was more classic than flash.

Eventually, we made our menu decisions and I chose the Smoked Salmon Benedict.

The salmon certainly was smoky and complimented the rich Hollandaise sauce very well. The challah was fluffy and fresh, the schmaltz potatoes (Jewish home fries) were salty and hot and the caviar added a nice contrasts in both color and texture. This entree was the best new item I have ordered of a CMR menu in a very long time and if you are a fan of Hollandaise and/or smoked salmon, you would be well served by ordering the same.

Austin chose a traditional brunch staple, Hash and Eggs.

Named after Ed, the uncle of CMR President David Miller, this dish had consisted of pastrami, Schmaltz potatoes, Brussels Sprouts and caramelized onions topped by two perfectly cooked Sunny Side Up eggs. Not pictured was the choice of bagel (everything) that came with this entree.

Austin reported that this dish was a hit, that he enjoyed it more than traditional hash and that he would definitely order this dish again. At $14 and could easily be shared between two patrons, but you should probably just man up and order it for yourself.

Next up? Harvey’s (David Miller’s father) Breakfast Platter.

Megan only made it through half of this entree before throwing in the towel. More Schmaltz potatoes. More perfectly cooked eggs. Tender and juicy chicken breast patties and a bagel of your choice. What’s not to like? Again, this was a shareable entree and again was value laden at only $16.

Everything to this point and been pretty great, but then, the Rueben took our experience to the next level.

Scott had ordered the Rueben on his previous visit, couldn’t wait to order it again and admitted that he had a dream about it. Don’t lie, you have dreamed about food too. Personally? I dream about burgers and fries more often than I would like to admit.

Scott’s choice gets two photos because he was the champion of this particular Saturday. It should be noted that the mustard based potato salad is no slouch and should be chosen over fries every time and coleslaw most times. Of course, I would be fine having potato salad with every meal or even as a breakfast entree, so take that for what it is worth.

After we finished, everyone repeated their drink order except for Scott, who went with a Manhattan.

As you can tell, the Manhattan came with a pickle back. I am more in favor than opposed to the pickle back trend. It can seem like kind of a gimmick, but it is delicious and can smooth out any bite that your drink may offer.

This was definitely a great experience – the food was delicious, the drinks were tasty and the service was second to none. Harvey and Ed’s is a great spot for noshing, to take out of town visitors and to get your fix when you are jonesing for a Reuben.

Oh yeah…after brunch we traveled a few doors north the King of Short North Dives, Mike’s Grill. You can’t be fancy all of the time and we all need to support Short North bars while they are still in existence.

At Mike’s, $10 bought all of this.

You know this looks like fun. And it was. Get out there and support the Short North.

Published by Aaron Wetli

I am just a regular dude from the suburbs who likes to write. The topics usually focus on television, music, and food, but I also like to write about the community I live in. You can also check on the content I contribute to local media by googling my name along with (614) Media group. As always, thanks for reading!
View all posts by Aaron Wetli